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Dan Hoffman
Dan Hoffman was a wealthy man who sold real estate in Manhattan. In the public eye, he was perfect, charming, and charismatic. But in private, he was a violent, abusive monster and wife-batterer. Dan started abusing Jill, his second wife, shortly after their wedding two years ago and completely isolated her from the world; he drove all her friends away. Kim, Dan's first wife and Tommy's biological mother and his son, had left a year before that; Dan probably abused her, too and told everyone that Kim left them for another man. Dan had psychologically terrorized his son, but hadn’t laid a hand on him... yet. Jill had known that Dan would cross that line was only a matter of time. Both Kim and Jill never made a domestic violence complaint because he is 'Mr. Pillar-of-the-Community' in their exclusive small town of Rye; no one would ever believe he's a batterer. His son, Tommy, was clearly terrified and he would psychologically terrorized him when Tommy was about to tell Olivia about Jill's murder when he came in. He played the loving father and grieving widower only too well for Elliot and Olivia’s taste, having the right answer for every question they ask. When Olivia tells him she doesn't buy his act, his good-guy mask slips just a bit as he replies, "You wouldn't dare talk to me that way if you didn't have that badge and gun." Allen Wheaten, the Hoffmans' longtime neighbor, knew Kim was being physically abused because he'd seen the injuries and didn't believe that Kim left with another man. He believes Dan murdered Kim, because late one night he saw a van pull into the Hoffmans' driveway. Someone filled the van with garbage bags and drove off. The next day, Kim was gone. Wheaten contacted the Rye police with the van's license plate number and his suspicion that Kim was murdered. According to Allen, he terrorized Kim so much to not to talk to anyone in their neighborhood. She would look over her shoulder to wave back at him. The van belonged to Dawn Trent, a soccer mom from Port Chester who said she'd been delivering Girl Scout cookies. Case closed. Dawn Trent tells Elliot that she had helped Kim escape that night from her abusive situation. Kim didn't take Tommy with her then because Dan was on the verge of killing her; she had to leave fast. She hoped to return for her son once she was settled elsewhere. Dawn belongs to a group which rescues domestic violence victims and passes them from one person to another, eventually resettling them far away from their abusers. All any rescuer knows is the next link in the chain. When Tommy is called to testify, he and his mother walk into the courtroom together. On the witness stand, Tommy is too terrified of his father to speak and the judge allows him to step down without testifying. As Alex leads Tommy past the defense table to leave, Dan flashes him a big smile and says, "I love you, son." Tommy looks at his mother sitting nearby, then quietly says to his father, "You killed Jill." Dan's lawyer immediately asked to move from this trial, as the judge calls for order in the court among the murmuring observers. Dan's good-guy mask slips off as he coldly says, "Tommy, you listen to me. Don't do this." Tommy turns to Alex and says, “I’m ready. I can do this now.” Dan Hoffman can only watch in silent, seething rage as Tommy returns to the witness stand. As Tommy sits down, he glares at his father with a steely, righteous defiance that not even Dan’s most violent abusive fury will shake. It's presumed that Dan was charged with killing and abusing both Jill and Kim and was arrested. Category:SVU Characters Category:Characters Category:Murderers Category:Males